Heavy rains along Australia’s east coast have triggered flash floods, with some 500,000 people facing evacuation, reports Reuters. First Queensland, in the country’s northeast, and now New South Wales in the southeast, have been affected by a severe weather system, including the city of Sydney, home to more than 5 million people. Queensland’s capital Brisbane was severely affected by heavy rain and subsequent flooding last weekend, and intense rain is expected again today.
New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perrottet said "We do believe that things will get worse before they get better in the state," adding that in some places the floods may be worse than last year’s floods, the worst in 60 years. The reservoirs in Greater Sydney are at 99.9% of capacity; according to the authorities, not as much water was expected to overflow from the Warragamba dam – the primary reservoir for water supply to Sydney – as initially feared.
The La Niña weather pattern, associated with higher rainfall, has dominated Australia’s east coast over the austral summer, so catchments were already near capacity after the rains of the last few weeks. Australia is prone to natural disasters and swings in weather conditions, including floods, droughts and bushfires. Current floods are affecting areas that went through bushfires in early 2020 and a severe drought prior to that. As these cycles are likely to intensify under climate change, so does the need to invest in resilience.
